“Here’s To You” #76 5/25/1968

One from Hamilton Camp, who was known far more for his work as a character actor. He had numerous roles on sitcoms such as “M*A*S*H” (the slightly insane Boots Miller), “WKRP In Cincinnati” (Del, the manic salesman) and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (Mary’s height-impaired date). He was also a voice actor, providing the voice of Greedy Smurf plus several characters on the Ducktales cartoon series.

“Love In Every Room” #60 5/25/1968

Here’s the followup to Paul Mauriat’s worldwide #1 smash “Love Is Blue.” He later became a phenomenon in Japan, becoming the first solo artist to sell out the famed Budokan arena twice in one day. (The Beatles were the first group to do so.) Mauriat was quite prolific with well over 1,000 titles in his catalog of recordings.

The White Album

On this date the Beatles began work on what came to be known as the White Album, released in November 1968. The sessions continued through mid-October, including the non-album single “Hey Jude”/“Revolution.” After the lavish “Sgt. Pepper” cover and blowback from the “Magical Mystery Tour” debacle, they decided this LP would have a stark white cover with just the band’s name on the front. It became a double album partly to finish out their contract sooner. The songs were mainly written while they were in India studying Transcendental Meditation. The actual sessions were, in a word, contentious. The ego war between John and Paul reached a low point, exacerbated even more over the next few albums. George was ticked he wasn’t being taken seriously as a songwriter by Lennon and McCartney. Yoko’s constant presence in the studio and John’s drug issues didn’t help. Things deteriorated to where Ringo quit the band for almost two weeks and had to be coaxed into coming back. (Paul played drums on “Back In The USSR.”) It wasn’t so much a group effort, as only about half the tracks had all four members playing, yet the songs were mostly brilliant - with a few clunkers. Once again the Beatles didn’t just break the rules, they wrote new ones for everyone else to follow. The White Album remains a watershed moment in rock music history.

“Wear It On Our Face” #44 5/25/1968

The Dells had a huge R&B hit in 1956 with the original version of “Oh What A Night” but their career soon had a major disruption after a near-fatal car accident. They became a backing group on records like “Hello Stranger” by Barbara Lewis before finding greater success on their own. “There Is,” the group’s previous single to this one, made the Top 20 and their followup to this made the Top 10.

“Paying The Cost To Be The Boss” #39 5/25/1968

B.B. King had been quite successful on the R&B charts since 1951, but this was only his second Top 40 pop record. He came out of Indianola, Miss. to play the juke joint circuit throughout the Mississippi Delta. One night at a club in Twist, Arkansas the place caught fire, caused by two men fighting over a woman named Lucille. B.B. ran back into the burning building to rescue his guitar, which he named after the woman as a reminder to never endanger himself that way again.

“I Wanna Live” #36 (#1 Country) 5/25/1968

This week’s #1 on the country charts was the first of five for Glen Campbell on that side of the street. It also snuck into the pop Top 40. Written by John D. Loudermilk, who also wrote “Tobacco Road,” “Talk Back Trembling Lips,” “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye” and most notably “Indian Reservation.”

“My Girl/Hey Girl” #35 5/25/1968

The last Top 40 record for Bobby Vee was a medley of the ‘65 Temptations classic and a Freddie Scott hit from ‘63 written by Goffin and King. Bobby Velline got his start when his band filled in for Buddy Holly in Moorhead, Minn. after that tragic 1959 plane crash. One door closes and another opens. Bobby once had a keyboard player, Elston Gunnn (with three n’s), who went on to bigger things as Bob Dylan.

“Does Your Mama Know About Me” #29 5/25/1968

A tale of interracial love by Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers, who started out from that town in British Columbia. Their original drummer was Floyd Sneed, soon to be a member of Three Dog Night. Floyd’s sister was married at the time to the group’s guitarist, Tommy Chong. Yeah, as in Cheech and Chong later on. The band did a show in Chicago where an then-unknown family act, the Jackson 5, opened for them. Bobby brought them to the attention of Berry Gordy, as they recorded for Motown. Gordy signed the Jacksons but publicly credited the far bigger star Diana Ross with discovering them, although she had nothing to do with it.

“The Happy Song (Dum-Dum-De-De-De-Dum-Dum)” #25 5/25/1968

The followup to “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” for the late Otis Redding. After his untimely death, Redding’s catalog of unreleased music was part of a legal tug-of-war between Stax Records and the much larger Atlantic label over ownership of Stax’s master recordings. Atlantic eventually won out, and even though Stax still had acts like Isaac Hayes and the Staple Singers, they went bankrupt in 1975.

“She’s Looking Good” #15 5/25/1968

The biggest hit for Wilson Pickett since “Funky Broadway” almost a year earlier. Written by Rodger Collins, who would change his name in the 70’s to Hajji Rajah Kasim Sabrie. Wilson was no longer recording in Muscle Shoals, having moved his base of operations to Memphis. However, he returned to Alabama later in the year where Duane Allman became one of his backing musicians in the studio.

“Take Time To Know Her” #11 5/25/1968

Mama always knows best, right? In the case of this Percy Sledge tune, Mama knew the girl her son brought home was going to be Miss Wrong, but he married her anyway with disastrous consequences. It became Percy’s next to biggest hit. A great example of Southern soul music, where the heartache oozes throughout.

“Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day” #9 5/25/1968

This was the first single where Stevie Wonder used the clavinet, a type of electrified keyboard with a very hard-edged sound. He played it on several more records over the next few years, most notably “Superstition.” The instrument also appeared on many other songs like Led Zeppelin’s “Trampled Under Foot,” ELO’s “Evil Woman” and “Love Will Keep Us Together” by the Captain and Tennille.

“Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing” #8 5/25/1968

Another fine duet from Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. Berry Gordy once told Ashford and Simpson their songs weren’t classy enough for Motown, but they persevered and became important contributors to the label. Nickolas and Valerie wrote quite a few hits for Motown until departing in 1973, achieving further success on their own.

“The Unicorn” #7 5/25/1968

Save the unicorns! This group’s name, the Irish Rovers, was quite appropriate as all but one member had pure Irish roots. They began in Toronto several years earlier, taking their moniker from a traditional ballad of Eire. This whimsical tune was written by Shel Silverstein, who also composed “A Boy Named Sue,” “Sylvia’s Mother,” “The Cover Of ‘Rolling Stone’“ and plenty more off-the-wall songs.

“A Beautiful Morning” #3 5/25/1968

The first single issued as the Rascals, dropping the “Young” portion of their name, and another song I certainly recall from my swimming pool days that summer. The intro with the near-psychedelic bells was most distinctive. It was used in many advertisements, ranging from prescription meds to fabric softener to a hotel chain.

“Baby Make Your Own Sweet Music” #64 5/18/1968

The last US chart entry for Jay and the Techniques. It was much more popular on the Northern Soul club scene in the UK than in America. Northern Soul could be considered a British equivalent of the Carolina beach music scene over here. From what I can tell, lead singer Jay Proctor is a recent colon cancer survivor. Yay!

“Friends” #47 5/18/1968

After the Beach Boys pulled the plug on their “Smile” album, they were in a period of seriously declining popularity. They canceled the rest of a concert tour after drawing a crowd of just 800 to the Singer Bowl, a 16,000 seat venue in Queens, NYC. But Brian Wilson pressed on and co-composed this rare waltz from a rock group. It became the title track from their poorest selling LP to date.

“Jennifer Eccles” #40 5/18/1968

After the commercial disappointment of “King Midas In Reverse” the Hollies came up with a decidedly more mainstream sound for their next single. Jennifer was the first name of lead singer Allan Clarke’s wife; Rose Eccles was Graham Nash’s former wife. This was Nash’s penultimate single with the group.

“Do You Know The Way To San José” #10 5/18/1968

There are times when a performer thinks a song is kind of silly or dumb, but they record it anyway. Dionne Warwick admitted as much about this Bacharach/David tune, yet it became a signature song of hers. Supposedly Hal David was partial to San José, having been stationed there while in the Navy. The unique bass drum sound was achieved by attaching a microphone directly onto the drum head.

“Love Is All Around” #7 5/18/1968

You could say the Troggs got as far away as possible here from their biggest hit, “Wild Thing.” This is such a gentle love song, isn’t it? One I sure remember from the jukebox at the swimming pool that summer. A remake by the British group Wet Wet Wet was #1 for 15 consecutive weeks on the UK charts in 1994 and was featured in “Four Weddings And A Funeral.” Troggs front man Reg Presley donated his songwriting royalties from the ‘94 record...to crop circle research.

“Cowboys To Girls” #6 5/18/1968

Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff had already made a name for themselves as record producers in Philadelphia. Their first real national hit was with the Soul Survivors (“Expressway To Your Heart”), but this #1 R&B smash by the Intruders laid the foundation for their later successes. It’s a template of Gamble and Huff’s trademark arrangements - The Sound Of Philadelphia. Video is from “Soul Train” with an intro by Don Cornelius.

“Tighten Up” #1 5/18/1968

“Hi everybody! I’m Archie Bell and the Drells of Houston, Texas. We don’t only sing but we dance as good as we walk!” An absolutely recognizable intro to one of the biggest hits of 1968, but Archie had been drafted and was serving in Vietnam just as this record took off. The Army did allow him to do a few gigs while on leave. Archie’s brother was Ricky Bell, running back for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“He Don’t Really Love You” #92 5/11/1968

Sometimes when an act finally succeeds, their earlier work is re-released by a former label in order to ride the coattails. That happened to the Delfonics after the success of “La-La (Means I Love You)” when their previous label reissued this single from late 1966. It wound up cutting into sales of the actual followup, “I’m Sorry” and both efforts suffered. Still some straight-up smooth Philly jams here.

“Impossible Mission (Mission Impossible)” #68 5/11/1968

Here’s a forgotten example of blue-eyed soul from the Soul Survivors. These guys helped give rise to the Kenny Gamble/Leon Huff enterprise known as The Sound Of Philadelphia. The band kept it together for a while but eventually broke up, taking jobs as a landscaper, house painter, restaurateur and an auto body repair guy. Fame can be fleeting.

“Funky Walk Part I (East)” #67 5/11/1968

Serious badass groove alert!! If you want some raw, unpolished 60’s funk music, check this one out from Dyke and the Blazers. They also did the original of “Funky Broadway” made famous later by Wilson Pickett. These guys influenced people ranging from Rick James to Tupac Shakur. Dyke (Arlester Christian) was murdered in 1971 on a Phoenix street, reportedly over a drug deal gone bad.

“Look To Your Soul” #49 5/11/1968

The Mugwumps were a Greenwich Village group known far more for who was in the band than for their only LP. Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty become half of the Mamas and the Papas, while John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky became half of the Lovin’ Spoonful. The fifth member, Jim Hendricks, wrote this song and “Summer Rain” for Johnny Rivers. Jim also wrote “Long Lonesome Highway,” theme song for the 70’s TV show “Then Came Bronson.” Some great bass lines during the intro and outro - sounds like Joe Osborn of the Wrecking Crew to my semi-trained ear.

“U.S. Male” #28 5/11/1968

Another in a series of back-to-basics records by Elvis, partly to distance himself from those (mostly putrid) movie soundtracks he did earlier in the 60’s. Jerry Reed wrote this one as well as “Guitar Man.” He also played acoustic guitar for the King on both tracks, but balked when Colonel Parker expected Reed to sign away his publishing rights. Jerry held his ground, and Elvis had his biggest hit in two years.

“Soul Serenade” #23 5/11/1968

Willie Mitchell was a producer at Hi Records in Memphis who occasionally made singles on his own, like this R&B Top 10 effort. In 1970 the founder of Hi suddenly died and Mitchell wound up heading the label. That could’ve been problematic, except Willie had just signed Al Green to a deal. Those two went on to successfully collaborate on some of the smoothest R&B music of the 70’s.

“Funky Street” #14 5/11/1968

As a teenager, Arthur Conley moved from Georgia to the Baltimore area (Aberdeen, to be precise) and made a record titled “I’m A Lonely Stranger.” That release came to the attention of Otis Redding, who took him under his wing as they collaborated on “Sweet Soul Music” in 1967. After Otis died unexpectedly, Conley’s career stalled out. Arthur moved to the Netherlands, disillusioned with the music business but partly to live out his life as a gay black man. He passed away in 2003.

“The Singer Sang His Song” #116 5/4/1968

One from the Bee Gees that did well in other countries but not in America, due to confusion over which side of the single should be promoted. At first “Jumbo” was pushed, and only got to #57 on Billboard because of an ill-timed corporate decision to start promoting this side of the 45 in the US. Because of the resulting mixup neither track did well as “Singer” only bubbled under at #116. This one sounds a lot like “Words.”

“Soul Train” #90 5/4/1968

The phrase “soul train” existed way before the famous TV show hosted by Don Cornelius. It was the title of very different songs, each with very different meanings from Link Wray, Mary Wells, Little Richard and even Bo Diddley. This song with that title comes from the Classics IV as the followup to “Spooky” and dealt with a night of heavy petting before hopefully leading to...ummm, other things.

“We’re Rolling On (Part One)” #59 5/4/1968

Here’s a R&B Top 20 tune from the Impressions. They started out in Chicago in 1957 as a doo-wop group called the Roosters. Jerry Butler left for a solo career after the Impressions’ first hit, “For Your Precious Love.” Curtis Mayfield became the front man as they turned into one of the more influential black vocal acts of the 60’s. Mayfield left in 1970 and did well for himself as a solo performer and producer until a freak 1990 stage accident left him a quadriplegic. He died in 1999.

“Call Me Lightning” #40 5/4/1968

One from a US album called “Magic Bus: The Who On Tour” but none of the songs were recorded live. It was a mishmash of previous tracks and singles not yet released on any LP’s in the States. Essentially this was an album to keep the band’s name afloat in America while they were recording the rock opera “Tommy.”

“The Unknown Soldier” #39 5/4/1968

A definite anti-war song from the Doors. It became one of their more theatrical performances in concert. Guitarist Robby Krieger pointed his guitar like a machine gun at Jim Morrison, John Densmore would play a drum roll followed by a rim shot, and Morrison fell to the floor. This track required over 130 takes in the studio before producer Paul Rothchild was satisfied.

“Ain’t No Way” #16 5/4/1968

The B-side of Aretha’s “Since You’ve Been Gone” was written by her sister Carolyn Franklin and was a hit on its own. The Sweet Inspirations sang backing vocals along with Carolyn. To complete the family angle, Whitney Houston performed this song during her first national TV appearance in 1983 (on Merv Griffin’s show!) along with her mother, Cissy, who was with the Sweet Inspirations on this record.

“Summertime Blues” (Blue Cheer) #14 5/4/1968

Blue Cheer was certainly one of the loudest bands of the 60’s. The group took their name from a laundry detergent ad. They started as a guitar-bass-drums trio, expanded to six members, then cut back to a trio after seeing Jimi Hendrix perform in that setup at Monterey. This remake of the 1958 Eddie Cochran classic surely influenced hard rockin’ groups for years. Video is from Germany’s “Beat Club.”

“The Legend Of Bonnie And Clyde” #1 Country 4/27/1968

Not to be confused with Georgie Fame’s record on the same subject, using “legend” in the title instead of Fame’s “ballad.” The condensed bio of the 1930’s crime duo became Merle Haggard’s fourth country #1 this week in ‘68. However, the B-side, “Today I Started Loving You Again,” while not even promoted became a staple of country radio and IMHO the best tune Hag ever did.

“Loving You Has Made Me Bananas” #51 4/27/1968

One that showed up occasionally on the Dr. Demento radio program, which would feature totally whacked-out comedy records. Guy Marks (born Mario Scarpa) was a jack-of-all-trades performer, dabbling in singing, acting, comedy, you name it. Once he even played a love interest of Sally (Rose Marie) on the old Dick Van Dyke show. This was a homage to 1920’s and 1930’s style band music and radio broadcasts - and in a word, bizarre.

“Forever Came Today” #28 4/27/1968

By now the Supremes were in complete turmoil. Diana Ross finally received top billing above the group, which didn’t sit well with the others. Florence Ballard had been fired a few months earlier, replaced by Cindy Birdsong; Mary Wilson wasn’t happy, either. Diana was apparently the only Supreme appearing on this Holland-Dozier-Holland effort (one of H-D-H’s last at Motown), backed by the Andantes and recorded a year earlier. It was the group’s first non-Top 20 single since early 1964.